Last night, Tues 19 Nov, a little later than intended (nothing new there) the Howebzar Production Team stepped out to see Imagine Dragons at the Oasis in Swindon.
As it turns out our timing was pretty much perfect, we got the last parking space, no queue to get in, our tickets were waiting for us (thank you Oasis). In fact we were fashionably late for the support act which seemed pretty good and got a warm reception.

I wasn't sure what to expect of the gig, I guessed it would be a younger target audience, but the funny thing was it was me and Mrs.HBZ that were keen to go...we had to take the kids cos we couldn't leave them behind! Of course as the gig got closer and their friends all wanted to go, suddenly they got keen too and we turned into "SuperParents" for getting the tickets!

Nor were we the oldest, although I did feel a bit ancient when the music started and I had to resort to the earplugs...but...I suffer from Tinnitus and so I have to look after what is left of my hearing. I wouldn't wish it on anyone (always take earplugs to gigs kids).

For a contemporary band the Imagine Dragons put on a pretty authentic rock gig, with solos for the bassist, drummer and of course finishing off with a face melting guitar solo. The Oasis is a sports centre, and so the staging was basic, but the light show was good and frankly it's good to see a band just play without all the gimmicks.

Great musicianship throughout, and all the favourites played without any coyness. They even covered a Blur track (Song 2) which went down a storm with the Swindon crowd. Finishing off with a earth shattering version of "RadioActive" the band were persuaded to come back for an encore. All was well in Swindon.

Of course getting out from the last parking space was a different matter!

Way back in the balmy days of August 2013 I gave Ents24.com and the Oasis in Swindon a bit of a flaming. I am here to say I was wrong about the Oasis!

I was trying to get tickets to see Imagine Dragons at the Oasis Swindon next Tuesday, but by the time I got through to the switchboard they had all gone. 
The nice lady suggest I put my name on a waiting list and I thought "yeah, right" but did it anyway and prepared the HBZ production team for a disappointment.

Well fair play to the nice lady says I. Tonight I got a phonecall (which we nearly hung up thinking it was a marketing call!) and lo, it was the Oasis with 4 returned tickets. Happy Days...we're going to the concert.

Of course we will probably double the average age, but frankly Scarlett I don't give a damn.

(expect some ImagineDragons on this Thursday's show)

Last night we went to see "Genesis Revisited II" with Steve Hackett, one of the early members of the supergroup that was Genesis.
It was a real trip down the time tunnel, with a set list of tracks from the early Genesis years (Steve Hackett left after the Wind and Wuthering LP), featuring songs like "Carpet crawlers", "Firth of Fifth", "Supper's Ready" and many I recall shouting for at concerts when I was in my 20s.
Alas that was a long time ago now, and seemingly the same for the rest of the audience. Odd thing though - it was pretty loud, and I would imagine most of the audience would be the first to complain of a noisy wedding disco!

The music was beautifully handled, as you would expect, faithful to the original recordings. Such a joy to see my favourite guitar solos played by the guy that created them 40 years ago. Steve Hackett can still shred.

Don't be surprised to hear a 12 minute Genesis track on the show tonight - but I doubt if it will be the "singalong"!

I had hoped to get tickets to "Imagine Dragons" at Swindon in November, buy hey - all sold out.  A little annoying that I'm still getting emails saying there are tickets, but what can you do.

Weird to think that this week they have been playing Lollapalooza in Chicago, and in September they are playing at the Sports Centre in Swindon. Funny old world.